Why the iPad is Amitabh

First things, first: the Apple iPad tablet and others of its ilk are not netbook killers. So before you continue reading further, it’s important that you, dear reader, get that insane idea purged from your thinking meat. Comparing the two nouveau form factors is like comparing apples and oranges. And we all know that such comparisons are always fruitless.
What you can compare with this Apple, however, are the other slates that are in the market. And here, the iPad is like the young Amitabh Bachchan. Let me explain. Remember watching those movies from the late ’70s and early ’80s where the lanky actor took on the bulkier villains in fist fights? Well, admit it, he was no Bruce Lee – and most of the time, the guys he fought in films could easily have beaten him to pulp in real life. But the screen Amitabh did it in style; the persona that he packaged made us believe that he was the best.
Well, the iPad is the Amitabh of tablets.
Detractors might point out that it has no USB ports (or any other ports for that matter), that it is missing a camera (or two), and it is not a multitasker. But the moment you open up the pristine white box and see the stark gadget nestled in all its minimalist glory, it is hard not to be impressed.
Its excellent build quality, coupled with its aluminium backplate add to its killer looks – and of course, the first swipe on its touch screen is enough to silence the most ferocious of its critics.
The first times I saw it, I spent the first few minutes admiring the gadget’s straight lines, swiping and tapping at its screen with impunity. Its true, the iPad appeals to the basest of human emotions. And like all Apple devices, it makes its owners feel superior to the hoi-polloi. Indeed, I have begun to believe that the Devil works in the design department of that Cupertino-based company.
The gadget makes for convenient Internet browsing. But woe is theirs, who have picked up—or are considering—the Wi-Fi-only version. In a country such as ours, where wireless connections are few and far between, an iPad without 3G is as useful as a fishing rod is to a Bedouin.
Add to that that the iPad does not support Flash, and the slate does seem rather ill-equipped for a device that promises a sterling web-browsing experience.
And then there’s the case of the schizophrenic 1024×768 screen that’s a crystal-clear dream in the confines of your home, but turns into a reflective nightmare in sunlight.
Now while the thingamajig is fun “toy”, it does get cumbersome after a while. Its weighty 720 gms does not make for happy wrists. Try typing on it, and you know why the tablet is not a replacement for devices equipped with proper keyboards. Me, I had to go back to my netbook or laptop whenever I wanted to send lengthy emails or type out stuff.
But every now and then, I had to return back to the iPad. It’s a device that beckons, nay commands you to play with it; whether it is to have a swipe at smug pigs in Angry Birds, slash at gargantuan warriors in Infinity Blade, or just read Marvel comics. It’s a device—that despite its shortcomings—demands that it be showed off. It isn’t your desktop, or your netbook. Those are functional. The iPad is aspirational.
It is brash and confident like the young Amitabh Bachchan. And when you stride into a room with this Apple under your arm, you might be forgiven into thinking that you’re the Don; the Shahenshah. Only its not you, it’s the iPad.

(Published in the Times of India, Mumbai, on 13th Feb, 2011. Illustration: Bhagvan Das)